The Last Train Out of East Germany Left at 7:33 PM

In December 1961, a steam train driver aimed his locomotive at the Berlin Wall and drove an entire stolen passenger train out of East Germany — with the brakes cut and one chance to make the last open crossing before it was sealed for good. Twenty-five people aboard knew what that 7:33 departure meant. A conductor, a border policeman and a customs officer did not. This is how a quiet railwayman hijacked a scheduled train in plain sight of the state that was watching him — hour by hour, exactly as the Stasi later wrote it down. Chapters: 00:00 The Last Train to Freedom 02:17 Pankow to Zehdenick: Reassigned 06:10 Runaway Train to the Gate 11:20 Tracks Torn, Reports Compiled 16:30 Timetable of State Surveillance Every week, another true escape from behind the Iron Curtain — subscribe, and you'll be on board for the next one. #ForgottenEurope